The booklet features an introduction by the writer A.L. Kennedy and includes thoughts on human rights from the cartoonists themselves. Michael Heath accompanies his cartoon with a succint thought: “It’s nice to be able to draw anything you want without being arrested.”

Free will and cartooning: is this a no-brainer? Or will I realise hitherto unseen and earth-shattering truths whilst typing? A eureka moment like finally figuring out what the symbol on your car’s dashboard resembling a tap-dancing flukeworm represents.

In some countries, drawing cartoons, usually political ones, which laud the state and lampoon the running dogs of whatever the state doesn’t much like (this will inevitably involve Obama’s ears) is a pretty safe bet.

And the hand-breakers don’t just practice their painful ways within the borders of their own country either. They internationalise their state’s repression by blowing you up in the comfort of your own home (given half a chance) thousands of miles away because you disrespected their religion, which IS their state. This is a fairly effective way of severely curtailing the free will of say, a cartoonist in Berkhamstead who comes up with a goodie involving Mohammed and brainwashed bombers.

Of course, we in the developed, civilised world, when not busy invading places a long way away, of which we know little, or selling them arms so that the pro-USA side wins, luxuriate in free will – cartooning and otherwise.

It tends to be the political cartoonists who come to mind if we think about free will, and they do a great job, pushing it to the wire in some eyes, especially if those eyes belong to somebody with broken hands in Longwayawayistan.

Thing is, ours is an old country. Our government rolls with the blows, safe in the knowledge that having the doughty Steve Bell draw you as a shiny condom probably won’t force a general election. And yet that resilience, confidence and apparent belief in the freedom of the press – excepting naughty phone-hacking types – is probably not underpinned by a simple, ingrained sense of fair play.

No, it is maintained by a secret service – a very necessary part of our free world, we are told (often by the secret service), who spook about the place causing things to happen, like one of their own turning up inexplicably dead in a gym bag and now conveniently forgotten by the free press. I don’t recall seeing too many cartoons about that.

Ali Ferzat, the Syrian cartoonist brutally beaten by members of the Assad regime, has been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. See the magazine’s reasoning here, and read more about Ferzat in a previous post.

Popeye returns to comics in a new series this month, and the first issue features a variant cover by the Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer, which you can see here. Comic Book Resources gives it a positive review and asks for more.

Forbidden Planet last week highlighted the remarkable similarities between the poster design for an upcoming Brit flick and a piece of cover art from 2000AD. The film’s production company has since indicated on Twitter that it has recalled the image, but you can still compare the lookalikes here.

Rosie Brooks, “professional doodler” and Procartoonists member, has won a nine-day trip to Cuba. Increase your sense of envy by reading this.

While not specifically about cartooning, a well thought out piece from the Online Journalism Blog underlines the point that creative people are being routinely pressured into working for free, and that this can harm the industry they work in, as well as their own pockets. Read it here.

He told the BBC: “The uprising has redefined art in Syria. It’s exposed the gulf between real artists and mercenaries in the pay of the state. Most – many of them my colleagues – have failed that test. It’s changed what Syrians see as art.”

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Disclaimer: Any opinion expressed here is that of the named individual and not that of the UK Professional Cartoonists' Organisation unless explicitly stated. Artwork attributed to a named author or publication on this diary should be noted by anyone linking to us from any other site. Thank you. If you wish to reproduce an image please contact the artist from here.